GRAND RAPIDS ? The Grand Rapids Veterans Home will provide the setting Sunday April 5 for the fifth annual Community Sunrise Memorial Service hosted by the DeMolai Commandery No. 5, Knights Templar of Grand Rapids. A color guard from A Company, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines in Grand Rapids will present the US flag and a detachment from the American Legion will fire a rifle salute to their fallen comrades in the nearby Veterans Cemetery.
Knights Templar in dress uniforms from Commanderies across West and Northern Michigan will first gather at 8 am to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ in a brief service behind the Veterans Home ? joined by residents of the Home – and then march to the cemetery with the Marines and American Legion to lay a wreath honoring those veterans who have paid the ultimate price.
The public and press are invited to attend.
Veterans Home Chaplain Rev. Robert A. Dennis, a former member of the US Army who served in Operation Desert Storm in Iraq before becoming ordained, will deliver his sermon, ?God?s Warriors.?
Grand Rapids is one of three sites across the state where Knight Templars host an Easter Sunrise service. Port Huron and Battle Creek are the others.
?We want to make it more convenient for Knights in West and Northern Michigan to attend our Easter service,? said Sir Knight Mike Brennan, Eminent Commander of DeMolai No. 5. ?We also want to invite all veterans, including those at the Home, who have done so much to keep our Country free.?
The Grand Rapids Veterans Home is located at 3000 Monroe Ave NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49505. The Veterans Cemetery is just north of the Home.
